A Winter's Tale
by Nimmy
Summary: Set seventy years after the events of Vagrant Story, Ashley sees someone from his past outside his window... It all turns out to be an elaborate plan premeditated by the Great Goddess herself...


Hmm.... my first FINISHED attempt at writing serious fan fiction! I usually write short, silly little fics that might make you laugh, but make no sense at all. 

(No, wait... I DID finish a serious Gundam fic, but it was reeeeeeeelly angsty and wasn't that long :) ((mental note- might put that one up...))

So yeah, I do stuff in other areas like FF7/9, Gundam, Vagrant Story and insane cross overs and the odd self insertion fic (well, one.).

About this one you are about to read (and enjoy, hopefully! Maybe even review!!? ^^;;;) it contains shounen ai/yaoi themes and an AshleyxSydney pairing and all that jazz, so if ya don't like this kinda thing you're kinda in the wrong place! But it also has some drama, a little angst, some gore (not much) and there is no explicit rudeness, just a wee bit of _implied_ squishy stuff later on. But I'm ruining it for you!

Enjoy!     

   ~Nimmy~ 

(P.S- Ashley very subtly does a small Heero Yuy impression at some point- extra brownie points if you can spot it! ^_~) 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

He'd felt it coming for some time now, a disturbance... a stirring within the Dark. Shades were whispering of something yet to come, and the Rood Bearer was as of yet unaware of what that might be.

He was to find out soon enough. The Dark may warp and twist things, but it did not lie.

But even with this knowledge in mind, it did not prepare him for the sight he was to see on that cold, winter's day.

A Winter's Tale

It was particularly cold that afternoon, colder than usual. The snow fell in an unabated blizzard accompanied by howling winds. Frost gathered on the windows, forming intricate patterns on the freezing glass. 

But Ashley was warm, comfortable in his large leather chair in front of a roaring fire, wrapped in his cloak and his nose in a book.

Life was steady for him. He had no worries and had not had any for some time. He lived apart from the town in which he had once lived, a good mile or so away, secluded and comfortable with just his own company. He seldom ventured into the town, only when necessary to get supplies and such. He whiled away his time by reading books and sometimes attempting writing himself.

Nonetheless it was a good life.

Sometimes, he liked to think about the old days; when he was a Riskbreaker and the ordeal in Lea Monde. It had been so long ago... it was such an adventure. But all those he had shared it with were long gone... Merlose had died a natural death at the age of 87 about a decade ago... Joshua was still around though, now an old man, probably on his last legs. He'd taken his father's position of Duke and was making Valendia a prosperous place. Neesa had left the Crimson Blades after it had disbanded after Guildenstern had been destroyed, Tieger had never returned.

In any case, he was the only one left. It wasn't as strange to be ageless as he might have thought- things just didn't change. 

Ashley was glad in a small sense- he no longer had the feeling that time was slipping through his fingers.

He closed his book with a sigh and gazed out of the window at the furious blizzard that still raged. 

The thought that he might be snowed in vaguely darted through his mind as he stared at the entrancing snowfall as it blasted about in the winds.

Sometimes it felt lonely. He'd never been very bothered about being completely alone until not long ago, but it was finally beginning to sink in that he would always be so. It wasn't a very cheery thought, that the only human contact he'd ever likely get again would be the cold and money-hungry merchants that sold him supplies on his rare ventures into the town. In other words, he would never again have friends.

Oh, he could make an effort to make them, but they would soon start to age and die, leaving him alone once again. So it wasn't worth the trouble.

Another thought that came to his mind a lot- and increasingly more so lately, for some unknown reason- was the one person who had ever come to completely understand him. And it had happened within such a short time. He wondered sometimes, that if things had been different...

The thought was left unfinished as the dancing snowflakes softly carried him away into a restful slumber.

***

He awoke to the shades of the Dark whispering to his mind.

"Not again..." He mumbled. In his reminiscences he had forgotten for the moment something that was puzzling him. The Dark had been restless lately, whispering to him when his mind was quiet, excitedly hissing secrets in riddles about something that had yet to pass. It had never been so relentless and apparent before; it was obvious that something was afoot. But he had tired himself out thinking about what it might be, so had resolved to stop worrying about it until something actually happened.

And the whisperings had stopped for a while. Ashley had decided that the Dark was just playing games; trying to unnerve him for some reason and had left it at that.

But now it was there again, more loud and excited than usual, culminating to some sort of peak and driving Ashley to distraction.

"What do you want, damn you!" Ashley demanded of the Dark. The dark merely replied with a hissing laughter and died down once more.

Ashley shook his head in disgust. He hated the Dark and it's riddles, it would always twist and try to distort.

He sat up in the chair and stretched, the fire had burned down to glowing cinders and the room was starting to get a little chilly. Yawning, he slid off his chair and put a log or two into the hearth and stoked up the burning coals with a poker. Soon the fire was blazing and crackling away again. Satisfied, he stood and turned to go back to his chair.

He froze in mid step, his eyes wide and fixed as he stared out of the window into the blizzard.

He thought it a ghost at first, a figure, pale and statue like in the blizzard twisting wildly about it.

Pale hair, dusted with snow falling about an even paler face, seated atop a slight frame so delicate and fragile looking it seemed the very wind would break it.

He knew who it was. The very second he laid eyes upon the small pale figure he was certain.

"Sydney." Ashley breathed, still unable to move.

Sydney's face looked cold, pale and weary, the freezing blizzard was whipping mercilessly at his bare skin, he was completely naked from head to toe. 

But Ashley noticed straight away that something was very different about him. Sydney had arms. Real ones.

Before Ashley could ponder the meaning of any of this, outside, Sydney collapsed into the snow.

Without a second's hesitation, Ashley darted outside into the blizzard and made a beeline for the fallen figure, snow was already starting to bury the pale form.

Pulling Sydney free from the snow, he winced at how cold that pale flesh was. It was as cold as the frost itself. Scooping Sydney up, he rushed back indoors.

The door closed firmly against the blizzard, Ashley immediately laid Sydney out by the fireside, straightening out the limbs that were stiff with cold.

He checked for a pulse and let out a relieved breath when he found it, slightly weak but steady.

He went to his bed and retrieved a blanket and a pillow, propping up Sydney's head with the latter and draping the blanket over him.

Sydney slowly opened his eyes, his eyelashes stuck with snowflakes that were melting under the fire's heat. The water ran down his face in tiny rivulets.

"S-so cold..." Sydney whispered. "I'm so cold..."

Ashley felt Sydney's cheek; it was still as cold as ice. Sydney turned his head toward Ashley's touch, giving out a quiet moan at the comforting heat it emitted against his cold skin. 

Ashley shook his head and pulled Sydney into a sitting position, holding him against his warm body. 

Sydney shivered and tucked his hands under Ashley's arms, absorbing the body heat.

Ashley rubbed Sydney's back briskly to get rid of the abating chill, noticing something else peculiar- there wasn't a mark on Sydney's back. Neither the tattoo nor any scars from Guildenstern's doings were there. His back was smooth and unmarred by even a freckle.

It was as if he'd been given a new body, all the effects made on it by life erased.

Sydney was warming fast thanks to Ashley's ministrations. His hair was damp with melted snow and was hanging in clumps over his face.

"I found you..." He murmured quietly, still shivering as Ashley began to rub the last of the chill from his arms.

Ashley looked down into Sydney's face and their eyes met for the first time since he'd discovered him freezing outside. Sydney's deep brown eyes had a somewhat relieved expression.

"Sydney, I thought you were dead..." Ashley murmured, his brow creasing a little. "Why do you have real arms? Why is there no mark on your back?"

Sydney smiled weakly. "Ah, you must have many questions, which I will answer soon enough. But before I do, could I trouble you to ask for a bowl of something warm?"

Ashley couldn't help but smile, despite the questions buzzing round in his head. "Of course."

"You're very kind." Sydney took his hands out from Ashley's underarms and sat back a little, closer to the fire. Rubbing his own arms, he sighed at the heat flowing through his body, although he was still shivering. 

Ashley stood and went into the kitchen, watching Sydney wrap himself in the blanket through a small porthole as he prepared a large bowl of nicely warmed soup. He brought it through and handed it to Sydney with a spoon, Sydney accepted both gratefully and tucked in immediately. 

It didn't take him very long to finish. After the bowl was emptied, Sydney licked what was left from the spoon before pushing both aside. He sighed contentedly as the soup warmed his insides.

"Better?" Ashley inquired.

"Much."

"You should have a hot bath." Ashley suggested with the slightest of frowns crossing his face. Sydney still did not look very well at that particular moment.  

"Hmm, but don't you want to know the answers to all those questions running around in your head?" Sydney asked with a faint smile.

"They can wait. You'll catch pneumonia, if you haven't already. Come on..." He stood up and helped Sydney to his feet, who swayed a little and lurched forward only to be steadied by Ashley.

"I guess I'm not quite one hundred percent recovered yet after all..." Sydney conceded quietly as Ashley led the way to a room with a small tin bathtub. 

Soon, Sydney was bathed, dried and dressed in some of Ashley's spare clothes, which were a mite too big but comfortable. He was wrapped in a blanket and curled up on Ashley's leather armchair.

"You're very kind, Ashley." He murmured, tracing the crinkles of the leather chair idly with one finger.

Ashley shook his head dismissively. He was sitting on an old wicker chair opposite Sydney, taking in his appearance after so many years. He looked no different than he had ever looked, even his impish smile was exactly the same.

But his arms... how had he gotten them back? Never mind that, he shouldn't even be alive!

"The Lady sent me." Sydney said quietly, dipping into Ashley's mind as he used to in the old days.

"You mean Müllenkamp?" 

"Yes. She sent me to find you so I could help you." Sydney's voice sounded far away, distant in memory. "But I can't remember why I must help you. I just remember her telling me these things in the Shadow Lands, then I awoke in this world, lying in the snow outside Her Temple. I couldn't remember anything, I just knew I had to find you, Ashley."

Ashley lowered his head. This must be what the Dark had been whispering about... but why had Müllenkamp sent the previous Rood Bearer to this world instead of merely appearing to Ashley in a dream like she had done in the beginning?

"I think she is weakening..." Sydney offered. Ashley was not particularly bothered by Sydney's prying, he knew it was one of the pale one's habits.

"Weakening?" Ashley repeated.

"Yes. Her power can no longer reach out of the shadow lands. That is why she could not speak to you, I think. She gave me a new body and cast me down to this world so I might seek you out."

Ashley frowned. "But... you say you can't remember the purpose of finding me... yet you remember everything else?"

Sydney nodded. "All I know is that she is becoming weaker."

Ashley let out a weary sigh and rose to his feet, moving over to the window to gaze at the snowfall. "Then she probably wants me to discover what is making her lose her strength..."

"...and stop it?" Sydney finished for him.

"Precisely. Why else would she make you seek me out? This is what the Dark has been whispering about."

Sydney's dark eyes rested on Ashley's back. "Does this mean... that we have to go back... to that place?" He asked quietly with a hint of reluctance in his tone.

Ashley turned and met Sydney's eyes with his own. "I think we should... we should go to Lea Monde."

For the first time ever, Ashley truly thought he saw fear mirrored in Sydney's eyes.

"I don't want to go back there..." He said quietly.

Ashley sighed and returned to his chair. "I don't think that anyone would want to go back to Lea Monde. But I don't think we have a choice..."

Sydney lowered his head and studied his hands. "I know."

But Ashley could hardly blame Sydney for feeling this way. During his visit all those years ago, he had suffered so much. He had a right to be afraid.

"Sydney... you don't have to be afraid. I know a lot of bad things happened to you, but they won't happen again. I'll be there with you... I'll protect you."

Sydney looked up at Ashley with gratefulness and also confusion mixed up in his eyes. "You'd... do that for me?"

"I would."

Sydney lowered his head again and said nothing more. 

"You'd better get some rest." Ashley said quietly after a while of silence. "You can use my bed. Come on." He extended his hand to Sydney to help him out of the comfy recesses of the leather chair. Sydney hesitated slightly before allowing himself to be lead to Ashley's room.

***

Ashley slept in his chair in front of the fire, but it was not a very restful sleep. It was full of dreams about things from the past and things yet to come, he awoke to find himself sweating. 

He looked out of the window, it was dark. Strange, with the fire still gently crackling and the peaceful night outside, one might be able to fool oneself into thinking that nothing out of the ordinary had happened that day.

Strange, to think that Sydney Losstarot was in his house, sleeping in his bed. Yet everything seemed normal in a funny little way.

Ashley rose from the chair with a quiet yawn, stretching his limbs and pushing the thoughts from his mind as he pondered whether or not he should go and pay a visit to his guest... Sydney had most likely been through a freezing hell to find him and needed rest, but Ashley didn't need to wake him. He just needed to see him, as if doing so would give him some clue as to where this strange mystery was heading. 

Decided, he left the room.

The door creaked quietly as it was pushed open and then closed. The small fire in the hearth of the bedroom was burned low and crackling gently, the slender form on the bed was half wrapped in blankets and sleeping peacefully.

Ashley drew up a chair close to the fire and sat, studying the sleeping face while he had the chance. 

Sydney was lying on his side, curled up and facing in the direction of the fire. His knees were drawn up to his chest, his arms crossed over his shoulders and tucked between his knees and his body.

His lips were parted only slightly, letting in and out quiet breaths that rasped gently through the still air.

Ashley noticed that Sydney had found a hair comb, now lying beside the bed- and had combed his hair through with it. It was dry now and was shining like silver in the firelight. 

Sydney had always been pale. It was his trademark as much as his metal arms had been, his skin tone set by complimentary pale blonde hair, yet contrasted by startlingly dark eyes. If one got close enough though, one could see that his eyes were not black, just dark brown. 

Just like Sydney himself- not as dark as one might think.

Those eyes began to flutter open. First, they merely stared through the air in front of them, but then settled on Ashley's form as Sydney began to wake.

"Ashley..?" Sydney murmured, his body stretching out beneath the blankets. "Is it still dark?"

Ashley nodded. "Hn. It's sometime between two and four in the morning, though I can't be sure. I'm sorry if I disturbed you, I'll go." He slowly rose and made for the door.

"No, stay." Sydney said quietly. Ashley turned and exchanged a short glance with Sydney before returning to his seat.

"Can't you sleep?" Sydney asked.

Ashley shook his head briefly. "No. I can't rest with so many things to think about."

Sydney smiled. "Now you're making me feel bad for sleeping. It's only because I'm so tired- I'm sure I'll be just as restless as you in a day or so."

Ashley smiled back. "Don't feel bad for sleeping. You need to get rested up." He sighed and looked away. "We'll leave for Lea Monde tomorrow... if you think you'll be ok for travel."

Sydney nodded silently. "I think I will be. I just wish we didn't have to go there."

Ashley stood up. "I've said this before, but I mean it. I won't let any harm come to you. You must trust my words, Sydney."

"I trust you..." Sydney murmured as he watched Ashley head for the door, silently wishing he wouldn't leave.

Ashley smiled faintly once more before leaving, clicking the door shut after him.

Sydney sat still for a while before slowly resting his head on the pillow again, closing his eyes to sleep.

***

Ashley awoke to the smell of something delicious filling the air. He sat up with a start in his chair to see that the fire had been lit and he'd been covered with an extra blanket.

"I made you some soup, I hope you don't mind..." Ashley turned his head to see Sydney standing in the doorway connecting to the kitchen area, holding a steaming bowl in his hands.

"No, I'm very grateful..." Ashley said truthfully as Sydney brought him the bowl.

"It's a very small thank-you for you helping me like that yesterday."

Ashley smiled and took the bowl. Sydney sat down and watched him eat, warming his toes in front of the fire. 

"I take it you've already eaten..." Ashley mumbled as he spooned some soup into his mouth.

Sydney nodded. "That's ok, isn't it?"

"Of course it is." Ashley took another spoonful. "Are you feeling better today?"

Sydney hugged his knees as he gazed into the flames in the hearth. "Yes, thanks. I don't think I have pneumonia anyway."

"Which is surprising," Ashley put in as he put the emptied bowl aside. "You were wandering around in a freezing blizzard without a stitch on... how long had you been doing that?"

Sydney frowned, thinking. "Hmm... must have been about a day and a half, something like that..."

Ashley looked shocked to say the least. "What?! A day and a half?! You should be dead!"

Sydney looked at him quickly and he looked away. 

"What I mean to say, is... it's amazing that you hadn't collapsed a long time before you arrived here." He frowned. "Before she sent you here, did Müllenkamp mention anything about your mortality? Are you immortal?"

Sydney thought about this. "I don't think she said anything about that. If she did, I can't remember it. But I guess I'll find out the hard way once we cross into Lea Monde!" He grinned, chortling softly. 

"But you're going to protect me, aren't you?"

Ashley frowned. "I wasn't joking about that."

Sydney smiled at him. "I know, I wasn't joking either."

Ashley didn't reply. After a moment, he rose to his feet. "I'm going to prepare for the journey. You stay here." He walked to the door and wrapped himself in a thick cloak. 

Sydney stood up. "You're going now?"

"Yes. We have to leave soon, the sooner we get this over with, the better. I'll be back shortly." With that, he opened the door and was gone, closing it behind him. Sydney shivered at the short blast of cold air that slipped in as Ashley left and returned to his seat at the fireside.

***

Ashley returned little over an hour later. He was carrying a large leather bag and was having no trouble hefting it as he opened the door with his free hand. Upon closing the door, he found Sydney asleep in the large leather chair. Ashley smiled at him, he was curled up like a cat and oblivious to any goings on around him.

Ashley put down the bag and stepped closer to the sleeping form and reached out to touch one shoulder. "Sydney, wake up." He said it with mirth in his voice, for it seemed that most of Sydney's stay with him so far had been spent asleep.

"Mmf." Sydney twisted about a bit, gave a little stretch, but did not co-operate. 

Ashley was highly amused. He gave Sydney's shoulder a little shake. "Come on, wake up."

Sydney stretched his legs. "No."

Ashley sighed. "Then you leave me no choice." He reached out and under Sydney's shirt, pressing his extremely cold hand on Sydney's side.

Sydney fairly shrieked and sat bolt upright. He stared at Ashley in disbelief, looking somewhat annoyed.

Ashley turned his back and retrieved his bag from the floor near the door. "We set off soon, you need to be ready."

Sydney grumbled as he leaned forward in the chair. Ashley hid his smile well as he took the leather bag of equipment with him into his room to prepare.

***

It felt strange to prepare his weapons, like in the old days. Strange, to fix a blade to a grip, to slot bolts into a crossbow. He hadn't done it in a while, there had been no need. It was odd when he thought about it that Müllenkamp would have no use for her Rood Bearer for seventy years, she had never asked him to perform any task or mission... yet she had made Sydney a prophet in his time.

But now he did think about it, maybe she wasn't able to contact him. Sydney had said that she was weakening and they had deduced between them that she had no power beyond the shadow lands.

He had a feeling that all would be explained once they arrived in the ancient city.

He decided to take with him his two most trusted weapons- the faithful Fandango sword and the Seventh Heaven crossbow. 

Of course he remembered all the spells he had learned from the great tomes known as the Grimoires-

as if he had only read them yesterday. Of course the books would turn to dust once you had taken in its knowledge. The spell would imprint itself upon your mind in perhaps a not completely natural way.

He came to the conclusion that he wouldn't be faced with any threat once they arrived in Lea Monde. But he thought he'd take the weapons as a precaution. All the creatures spawned by the dark were long dead, and even if this were not so he was much more than a match for any of them. For he had slain the worst monster of them all- Romeo Guildenstern.

"That's a name that brings back memories."

Ashley lifted himself from his thoughts and turned his head to face the door to his room. Sydney was standing in the doorway, his hands clasped almost solemnly and his expression one of quiet pain.

"Not very nice memories..." He added.

Ashley sighed. "You do that a lot, don't you- snoop into my thoughts?" The accusation was soft and held no malice, the Rood Bearer even had a faint smile on his face. 

Sydney looked at the weapons assembled on Ashley's bed. "Are you busy? It's just that you told me to prepare for the trip, but I have nothing to prepare. I came with myself and that is all."

"Maybe that's what I meant." Ashley stood up and packed the chosen weapons into the small gadget bag. "You will be faced with unpleasant parts of your past when you set foot in that city, you need to be fully prepared for those things when they arise."

Sydney looked down, his hands wringing themselves. "I know, but..." He closed his eyes. "I can face them if I'm with you." He admitted softly.

Ashley turned fully on the spot to face Sydney, stopping his doings for a moment.

"You... you said you'd protect me from bad things..." Sydney continued carefully. "And the thought makes me feel... safe. Even when you carried me from the Cathedral that day when it was all over, I felt safe. The Blood-Sin burning on your back was a comfort to me as it pulsed against my skin. I wasn't scared, even though I should have been."

Ashley said nothing in return, he merely looked into Sydney's eyes, his face unreadable and his eyes expressionless. Sydney could not even pick up a thought from Ashley's mind.

There was a while of silence, neither one moved nor spoke, just a period of silently staring into the other's eyes, searching for a hint of feeling and trying to mask their own. 

In the end, Ashley looked away. "We'll leave now." He said quietly, picking up his bag. "Wrap up, it's very cold outside." 

With that, they left the room, but it was Sydney who felt empty.

***

It was nearly midday when the pair arrived at the entrance to the old wine cellar that was now the only way into Lea Monde. They had hardly exchanged a word since their talk in Ashley's room, and Sydney was feeling more than a little uncomfortable.

"This was where we abducted Merlose, Hardin and I." He said softly as they ascended the steps.

"This was where Merlose told me about you." Ashley replied as they arrived in the large room, barren and filled with small drifts of snow. "She had nothing but praise for you, as I recall." He smiled. "She seemed quite taken with you."

Sydney ran his fingers along the lever wheel that opened the gate to the wine cellar. "I think that changed after she met me..." he murmured. "Hardin was always telling me I was too hard on her. But I was only doing as I was told..." 

He sighed as memories of John Hardin trickled through his mind. Ever faithful, ever trusting, and so devastated when he discovered the truth. He would always see those soft brown eyes looking up at him with a questioning, so confused at why he had been deceived in such a treacherous way. Hardin probably hated him after that... right up until he...

"He thought the world of you, Sydney. Right up to his final breath." Ashley said, using Sydney's trick of dipping into the other's mind. 

"I know." Sydney replied, looking at his feet.

But do you? Ashley thought.

Silently, the two stepped into the wine cellar and into the first part of their journey into the past.

***

Without the obstacles in the way of opponents, it was a much quieter passage through the wine cellar and all its adjoining catacombs than either of them remembered. It was still a very long way, however. 

Sometimes, they would stop for a break, although neither of them liked to for the lack of conversation and the slightly stiff atmosphere. At least if they were walking, they would have something to concentrate on and wouldn't have to worry about making conversation.

Ashley in particular, felt the strain. The whole situation was just so strange, and it wasn't helped by an unspoken rift between them that had occurred during their last conversation at Ashley's house.    

They needed to talk. And not about their mission, or anything to do with Rood Bearers or Müllenkamp.

It was about how things were left suddenly, seventy years ago. 

Sydney died, Ashley had pushed thoughts of him from his mind. He had still to determine what his feelings were for the small mage.

But now... Sydney was back, and all those doubts and troubled thoughts had come flooding back with the all-consuming rush of a tidal wave. It was hard to think about their trip to Lea Monde with the questions in his mind.

Was it pity he felt for Sydney? Or was it love? He really didn't know. And now Sydney was back, so suddenly it had shaken him as the feelings he had ridden himself of had come crawling back into his heart like snakes.

All the while, he kept up a mental barrier to stop Sydney hearing his thoughts. That was one thing he could do without while he tried in vain to untangle the mess of emotion in his head.

Sydney had made a small fire, warming his cold hands near it, rubbing them briskly to get the circulation back.

Their eyes caught briefly as Ashley looked over then looked away again. He vaguely wondered if Sydney was having the same kind of thoughts, if he had the same mental turmoil. As much as he tried to see into the mage's mind, however- Sydney's heart was as closed and unreadable as a book fastened with chains and padlocks.

But Sydney had changed a lot since the time when they were last in Lea Monde. He was more subdued, not oozing with self confidence and charm like then. He looked back at Sydney, who was sitting hunched up by the small fire, hugging himself and his face troubled. Seventy years ago, he would rather have died than admitted that he felt safe in Ashley's presence. More than anything, it would have been an admittance of weakness; dependence on another. It just wasn't like Sydney.

He began to wonder if this creature with Sydney's body was really Sydney at all...

***

Eventually, The last set of doors leading out from the Sanctum were pushed open with some effort from them both, and the blinding light of day poured in to sting their eyes.

The familiar sound of distant birdsong greeted them as the stepped out into the street of Rue Vermillion. 

Both Ashley and Sydney took a moment to quietly survey the old walls, the cobbles on the ground. The place was exactly how Ashley remembered it, but with one marked difference. They were alone in the old city, no creature alive or dead walked the streets or the catacombs below them.

The city was at peace.

It occurred to Ashley that they now might go about solving the puzzle of why the Goddess Müllenkamp was losing her power.

"Sydney..." Ashley addressed the smaller man for the first time since they had entered the wine cellar.

Sydney turned, roused from his remembering, to look at him.

"Yes?" He asked quietly.

Ashley gestured with his black-clad arm toward the centre of town. "Now we're here, we should be able to figure out what's wrong with Müllenkamp. Let's make our way to the Cathedral."

He knew that the Cathedral would be the last place Sydney would want to go, but it was necessary. Necessary not only for discovering the answer to their quest, but also necessary for Sydney to face his past.

Sydney closed his eyes and nodded quickly in acquiescence. "All right."

Ashley reached out gingerly with one hand and touched Sydney's shoulder, just for a brief moment before walking on ahead.

Sydney smiled softly to himself before following the Rood Bearer.

***

"Gods... not even this old thing has changed." Sydney said as he craned his neck to see the top of the Cathedral.

"No, nothing has... I don't think it's an entirely natural preservation, either." Ashley muttered, running his black gloved fingers over the ancient Kildean runes inscribed on the old stone. He stood up, dusting off his hands. "Well, that rules that one out..."

Sydney turned to look at him. "Rules what out?"

Ashley gestured to the runes. "The ancient runes... they're still intact and the Gran Grimoire remains undisturbed. To be honest, I really can't think of much else that could be weakening Müllenkamp. Maybe she's just fading away because no one worships her anymore. You were her last prophet, Sydney."

"And you are her Rood Bearer, you carry her Blood-Sin. As long as you exist, she is all powerful. There must be another explanation. .... Can you read the ancient Kildean? Translate it?"

Ashley frowned. "I don't think I can. I would have thought that you would be able to."

Sydney nodded. "Hmm. A little, but some of those runes are so old, I don't think they're the same language. The runes I can read are just spells, nothing of importance. Look, there are even older letters right here." Sydney knelt on the floor and pointed out tiny carvings in strange and alien patterns on the sandstone. "They just look like scribbles... I can't make them out. If the spells I can read are in ancient Kildean, these ones must be prehistoric. But... this must mean that Lea Monde is older than I first thought... Why haven't I seen these before? They can't be new, they look much older than the other runes. But I think they're the same language, just an older form of lettering. That's just a guess, though."

Ashley knelt next to Sydney, looking at the lettering and tracing his fingers slowly over the worn cavities in the old stone. "So..." He began slowly. "If I were to read out these words, would you be able to translate them..?"

Sydney frowned at him. "Yes, but you can't read them. If I can't, you certainly won't be able to."

Ashley closed his eyes and traced the fingers of his left hand over the carvings while he clutched the Kadesh ring from his finger within the right. "This ring... once belonged to the Goddess Kadesh. I know it harbours powers that I can't fully understand... I felt it become warm when I touched the runes. I don't know, but maybe..." 

To Sydney's astonishment, the Kadesh ring began to glow.

Ashley closed his eyes. "I feel it... I see the words... in my mind." He was quiet for a moment, a quiet power humming through his body. He began to speak in hushed, low tones as his fingers moved over the ancient words on the wall.

"Ardu...aqui huyana...

Du Kaiba... Ferisave..ardu...

Kaiba ..ari masja...

Ardu slo bentiaya..." Ashley murmured the words, his eyes closed and his fingers reading the words in their stead.  

"There must be two,

The two must be as one,

And from that one, 

Two there will be."  Sydney translated, his brow creased.

Ashley stood, walking along all the walls he could see, tracing his fingers over every inch of the stone.

"The same thing... repeated over and over... it all says the same thing...Ardu...aqui huyana...

Du Kaiba... Ferisave..ardu...Kaiba ..ari masja...Ardu slo bentiaya."

Sydney frowned, confused. "There must be two, The two must be as one, And from that one, Two there will be." He shook his head. "But why..? What does it mean?"

Ashley sighed and released the Kadesh ring from his tight grip, slipping it onto his finger again. "I don't know. But I don't remember anything of that sort being mentioned when we were here seventy years ago. Nothing."

Sydney lowered his head. "Maybe... maybe the answer is at the top." He raised his finger to the sky and Ashley followed it's direction to find it pointing at the top of the Cathedral.

He nodded solemnly to Sydney. "Let's go."

***

Sydney and Ashley found their way up to the top, to the room above the atrium, with hardly an upward glance. They conducted their ascension of the ancient building in silence; though it was not an uncomfortable silence as it had been in the catacombs adjoining the wine cellar. There was a desperate sense of purpose filling them both, and they both knew that they would find their answer- whatever that answer may be- at the top of their climb. 

How peculiar it was to have Sydney completely on his side... Ashley pondered this as he watched the blond walking up the staircase they were ascending with resigned determination.

Seventy years ago, Sydney had been so elusive- cryptically speaking in smiles and whispers then spiriting away like a leaf in the breeze to leave him with a sense of questioning, a sense of frustration and sometimes anger. Yet since he had discovered Sydney naked in the snow, Sydney had been so quiet and submissive, as he'd noticed before.

 It was as if he'd learned a harsh lesson about being brash and as the saying goes- once bitten, twice shy.

They really needed to talk, and maybe this was the best time to do it...

***

As soon as they stepped into the room, Sydney found himself looking directly at the spot where he had lain in a pool of his own blood, stabbed and the Blood-Sin torn from his back. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath as the memory shook him violently, he clutched his hands to his sides as he tried to regain control. 

"Sydney." 

He wheeled on the spot, the calling of his name bringing him out of his memories sharply.

"We need to talk... about what happened then."

Sydney shook his head. "I don't want to."

"I'm sorry, but some things need to be faced up to. We need to sort some things out. Sydney... there are some things that we never had the chance to talk about and I think now would be a good time." Ashley said adamantly. "And I want to know why you're here."

Sydney frowned. "But we're here to-"

"No," Ashley interjected. "Why are you here. Why you were brought back, and why you came to find me. I mean, are you even the same person? You look like Sydney, you sound like Sydney, and you even have Sydney's memories but you could be a creation sent to deceive me... to... Gods, I don't know! But I'm tired of being confused! I want answers!"

Sydney hung his head. "Why can't you see... all those things you don't know the answers to... I don't know the answers to either. I'd like to think that I am who I think I am... and as far as my knowledge goes, I am." 

Ashley's eyes widened as he saw a single tear roll down Sydney's pale cheek.

Sydney turned to look at the dark and rusty stain on the far left side of the floor. He walked over to it.

"Is this mine? Is this really my blood? I know I didn't have arms then..." He pulled off his gloves and rolled up one sleeve before pulling a small dagger out of his boot. He winced and clenched his teeth as he slowly dragged the blade along the underside of his forearm, cutting the flesh deeply and watching the blood run freely down his arm and form a pool on top of the blood stain made seventy years previous.

Sydney was openly weeping now. "Is this the same? Is this the same blood?"

Ashley stepped forward and wrenched the knife from Sydney's grasp. "Sydney, stop it now!" He commanded, throwing the knife aside.

Sydney stopped crying. He was staring at his arm in shock, Ashley thought perhaps he's realised what he'd done to himself.

But he was staring at the wound for another reason entirely- it was closing up.

"Ashley..." Sydney breathed as he watched the flesh knit together in fascinated horror. "What is this..?" He whispered, his breaths coming in hiccups.

Ashley shook his head. As he looked at Sydney's face, the sorrow in it wrenched his heart. He had never seen such a tragic expression, Sydney was so confused, there was such regret in Sydney's soul. He reached out and drew the stricken mage close to him, and Sydney's heart opened, the chains and padlocks falling away.

"I don't know what it is, Sydney. I don't know what any of it is. But I swear on all I hold dear that I will protect you no matter what."

Sydney smiled through his tears, the droplets wetting Ashley's shirt as his cheek rested against it. "You don't know what you're talking about, you sound so stupid, Riskbreaker."

Ashley grinned. "You're Sydney all right. And I love you."

Sydney said nothing, but began to weep once more. He wound his arms round Ashley tightly and pressed his face a little harder against his shoulder.

Ashley returned the embrace, gently stroking Sydney's hair.

Sydney showing his sadness and his pain... although maybe a first, it seemed completely natural that he should, in this place. 

Sydney smiled, though Ashley couldn't see it. "Funny you should say that, you know..." He sniffed, wiping his tears away. "Because I seem to love you too." He drew back from the embrace and smiled at Ashley, who smiled back and touched Sydney's cheek with a gloved hand.

As they kissed, Ashley realised that all along his feelings for Sydney had been ones of love. And it seemed amazing to him that those feelings were returned... Sydney had never seemed the type to harbour any affection in his heart. But he had changed near the end... as he'd lain there in Ashley's arms before the confrontation with Guildenstern, there was a distant light in Sydney's eyes that told of a marked difference in him. 

It was strange, to be lying on that same floor with him seventy years later, to be making love to him and feeling real fingers touching his flesh, not ones of metal. 

Was it a dream? No, it was too real to be imagined... Sydney's sweet caresses and murmurs of endearment as he lay beneath Ashley. 

Their hearts seemed to take flight, soaring to another plane of existence as for the first time, Sydney's soul lay an open book for Ashley and Ashley only to read.

And after it was over, they both felt like they had been filled with light. The very room seemed to brighten, a breeze even blew over them gently from one of the small windows.

"Something just happened..." Sydney whispered, his cheeks flushed pink and his eyes sparkling.

As Ashley raised an eyebrow, Sydney smiled up at him. "No, I don't mean that. Something... happened. Could you feel it? My back feels warm."

Ashley frowned slowly and motioned for Sydney to roll onto his side, which he did. Upon pulling up Sydney's loosened shirt, he found that emblazoned on his back, pulsing softly, was the Rood Inverse.

"The Blood-Sin..." Ashley whispered in astonishment.

Sydney gasped. "What? You mean... it's there again?" He rolled back again so he could look at Ashley. Sydney sat up and checked Ashley's back to see if his tattoo was still there, it was. And that one was pulsing softly too. Sydney placed his hand over it.

"It's warm..." Sydney breathed. His eyes widened. In a sudden moment of clarity, he remembered the ancient runes covering every single wall in Lea Monde.

"There must be two,

The two must be as one,

And from that one, 

Two there will be..."

Ashley stared at him. "The two... means us, correct?"

Sydney nodded. "The two must be as one. And we've just..." He trailed off.

"From that union..." Ashley continued.

"There shall be two. Two Rood Bearers." Sydney shook his head. "Is that what Müllenkamp wanted? Two Rood Bearers?"

There was a soft yet noticeable gust of wind through the room, not a natural one either. Ashley hauled himself to his feet and drew his sword, looking around cautiously for some denizen of the Dark.

A small cloaked figure gradually appeared in a soft cloud of mist in the centre of the room, slowly taking shape and singing to itself softly, quietly. 

"Demon..." Ashley whispered . He wheeled and was about to swing at the figure with his blade...

"Stop!" It was Sydney who had called out, holding his hand out to stop Ashley from tearing into the cloaked figure. "It's the Lady..." He whispered.

"Quite right, my pale one." Came a woman's voice, light and musical as the robe dropped to the floor.

There stood the Goddess, in all her glory.

"And I was beginning to think you'd never get it." She laughed, and Ashley frowned at her.

"I don't understand. Why do you need two Rood Bearers? Surely one Blood-Sin is enough? I don't understand the reason for any of it!" Ashley said, staring defiantly into the eyes of the Goddess, who merely smiled warmly at him.

"Temper, temper. You have both gone through much, and I will reward you with all the answers you seek. I shall be blunt- Sydney had much more potential as my carrier of the Blood-Sin than you shall ever have, Ashley Riot."

Ashley opened his mouth to speak, but Müllenkamp hushed him.

"Patience. He had more potential, but the potential could not be utilised. This is because he had closed his heart, and it could not be opened... I instructed him therefore to find a successor to his power, he chose you. You gained his power when he died, which I had called for him to do. I was disappointed to find that your heart was also closed. 

"I had begun to weaken by the time you had fully partaken of your powers and I could no longer reach out of the Shadow Lands that comprise my domain. I began to weaken because I needed an agent on earth that could channel my power... but with a closed heart one cannot channel such deep and rich energy.

I had but one option left. I knew from the very start of Sydney's feelings toward you, Ashley Riot... and of yours for he." The Goddess purred, wrapping her arms around Sydney's shoulders. "So I sent him here to be with you. And Hell be praised, those feelings I sensed blossomed and so opened those cold, locked up hearts of yours. You needed love to be complete. Do you understand?"

Ashley's head was spinning. "You didn't send Sydney just to help you become strong again... you sent him so that we would fall in love?"

Sydney lowered his head as he listened to the two talk. Müllenkamp hadn't told him any of this before she cast him out of the Shadow Lands and back to this world... It seemed everything had gone according to her plan. He wasn't sure he was entirely happy with it if it had been premeditated...

Müllenkamp corrected Ashley. "But you were helping me regain my strength **_by_** falling in love. It was a good deal for all of us." She chuckled darkly. "Well, it seems your work is done... for now. I shall return to my home, and I recommend you do the same. There are some bad memories lurking in this old city for all of us..." She chuckled again, pointing to the original Rood Inverse that had been tattooed on her back during her days as a mortal. She began to fade from view, becoming transparent and her voice fading away. 

"Two Rood Bearers... you shall have company throughout eternity, Ashley!"

They both stared at the fast disappearing outline of the Goddess, her revelations echoing through their minds. When she had gone, they turned to look at each other slowly. 

"That means... I'm immortal then." Sydney started quietly. "With all my old powers..."

Ashley smiled. "So does this mean you're going to have your arms cut off and replaced with metal ones again?"

Sydney laughed. "Gods, no! I regretted that after the first time." His laughter faded to a small, reflective smile. "You know, Riskbreaker... I think that spending eternity with you is going to be **fun**."

Ashley forced a groan, smiling. "Not for me, it's not. You'll keep reading my thoughts and bending my will to make me do things I'd rather not do, now you have your powers of the Dark back. I won't have a second's peace!"

Sydney smiled and slipped his hand into Ashley's. "Tell you what, Riot. Let's make a deal. I won't use any of my mind reading or will-bending powers on you, if you promise the same for me."

Ashley seemed to consider this. "Deal." He said after a moment, and the two shook hands on it before making for the stairs.

"And..." Sydney began as they made their way down. "Let's never come here again."

"Deal." Ashley smiled softly, his tone more sincere. 

***

They emerged from the steps leading from the wine cellar and into the cold snowy day. They turned to look across the water at the towers and rooftops of Lea Monde for the last time. Turning away again, Sydney frowned as he saw a small dried bunch of flowers leaning against a small wall, half buried in snow. 

"What's this..?" He asked, looking down at it.

Ashley smiled and stood next to Sydney. "Joshua puts them there every year, in memory of the man who died there. Even still, after all this time."

"Joshua..?" Sydney murmured. "Then... it must be Hardin. Joshua was so fond of him. I didn't know this was where he died..." He lowered his eyes for a moment before walking over to a holly bush and snapping a sprig off it. He came back to the wall and laid the sprig of holly next to the flowers.

"Goodbye, Hardin... I'll miss you." He turned and quickly started to walk back in the direction of Valnain, Ashley not too far behind.

Ashley could not see the tears running down Sydney's cold face.

END  

Weeeeee! There, it's finished. I hope you liked it, and please leave me a review, Müllenkamp bless you if you do!

^_~


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